Bosch Software Innovations today announced that Visual Rules is used for an energy management solution to provide utilities with real-time status updates, decision aids and recommended options for load relief. The business rules product has been integrated into Green Charge Networks' GridSynergy™, which helps meet the growing demand for electricity in the United States by increasing the utility's asset utilization and reducing their capital expenditures.

Due to the growing population and economic growth as well as the increased presence of electric vehicles, grid reliability and efficiency are key concerns for utilities. In order to modernize the nation's electric grid, smart meters are being rolled out nationwide and internationally providing utilities with vast amounts of data. ''Utilities are inundated with data from smart meters, distributed photovoltaic systems, and other network-enabled devices, in addition to historical usage data,'' says Vic Shao, Chief Technology Officer at Green Charge Networks. ''The real challenge is how to put the data to work to create actionable intelligence in real time.''

Being a central part of the energy management application, Visual Rules was primarily chosen for its unique graphical approach and its scalability and high-volume speed performance capabilities. "Visual Rules' intuitive user interface and runtime scalability made it our leading choice for the complex and data-rich Smart-Grid environment in which we specialize," says Shao. As part of a project on the New York City grid, rule sets, managed with Visual Rules, process massive amounts of real-time data and provide available options for strategically relieving peak loads for grid operators. In addition, the rules engine serves as the back end, which processes utility asset data to flag certain contingency conditions, and to suggest mitigation actions.

About Green Charge Networks
GCN, a leader in smart grid and energy storage technologies, develops and operates intelligent systems to accommodate local demand for electricity under existing generation and storage capacity restraints. Working with utility companies as well as public and private sector organizations, GCN is equipping the nation with advanced technologies to reduce energy spending and achieve increased efficiency. Green Charge Networks technology uses existing grid infrastructure and enables value adds such as electric vehicle (EV) charging.